[itsmeek]

greetings. i am the new owner of a 308 gt-4 in pretty rough condition, the car is a 1976 model. i can'not open the front trunk on the car. the mechanism that opens the hood works on the right but not on the left. how would I go about opening it without damaging the car? the wheels on the car also do not rotate. what could be the reason for that? the car had been sitting outside since 1991. thank you in advance

http://www.villagephotos.com/pubbrowse.asp?selected=841307

 

[rosed37]

Welcome to the forum, looks like you'll have some work ahead of you, but in the end I'm sure it will all be worth it. As for the wheels not rotating and given the fact it has been sitting 12 years, I think it's safe to assume that your calipers are seized!
Ed

 

[Dr. Bob]

I'm not too technical, but I can see you have a lot of work to do. please keep us updated. We can always use a lot of pics from restaurations etc.

 

[Pete04222]

I can't help you with the hood part, but for the wheels it sounds to me like all of your wheel bearings are rusted and seized. I would suspect you will have to replace all of the wheel bearings, bearing races and grease seals. Shouldn't be that big of a job although some heat may be required to take it apart and you will probably uncover other problems. Since you can't open the hood to get to the battery I'm guessing you don't even know if the car runs? I would think changing the cam belts would be a priority before trying to start it. The valves are interference, meaning the pistons will hit them if the belt breaks while the engine is running.

It's too bad the car was let go like that, it looks pretty rough in the photos.

There is a member here who's handle is '75 308 GT4 (Peter). This guy knows more about the 308 series cars than anyone I've ever talked to. Send him a PM and I'm sure he'd be glad to give you some advice.

 

[Andrew]

my god, how does someone let a car sit for 13 years?!

Looks like you have your work cut out for you. Peter will be able to give you some advice. Good luck with the restoration and welcome to the site.

 

[confused 206 (Fiat Dino)]

You did not mention if you have a handbook and have tried the emergency rings? Therefore, I will pass on the following information:

The front lid (hood) has two emergency latch activator rings: one ring is located directly above and to the left of the main opening latch under the edge of the dash. The other is located in the glove box. (per 1975 handbook)

Let us know how things work out ...

Best Wishes

 

[4kids3fish]

Welcome itsmeek. Now that's a solid project to get your teeth into, but IMHO the GT4 is a fab funky beast and your efforts should give you lots of satisfaction in the end. 8)

I tend to agree with Ed, in that sitting exposed for 13 years may have had more impact on brake components than the more "sealed" environment within the hubs. It does seem extreme that ALL wheels are locked-up. Anyway, take the rims off and try to remove the brake calipers and pads. If the pistons have siezed this may be hard, as you won't be able to retract them by bleeding-off fluid. Once one pad is out you should be getting somewhere. Hopefully you can then spin the hub - if not, Pete is right and the brgs will need to be pulled.

Try to avoid stuffing the rotor or hub by getting too violent as they will be expensive, while the brgs & brake bits should be more replaceable.

Re the hoot, I can only suggest closely examining the working catch. Has the RH cable (?) failed at the handle-end (& can you pull it with pliers)? Can you lever up the hood enough to see how the LH one works (and then work out how to tackle the RH one)?

My thoughts are that you will need lots of lateral thinking to get you to the end of the road you are travelling.

Anyway, GT4 (Peter) will have lots of suggestions soon ....
Good luck & keep us informed of the successes and problems.

 

[Pete04222]

Now that I think about it, I agree with Ed and 4kids3fish, it is probably the calipers. I too thought it was extreme that all 4 would be locked up. if it was just the back 2, I probably would have felt emergency brake cables.

Anyway, sitting outside for 13 years, the whole car is going to need a thorough going over before you ever try to start or drive it. I can see abandoning an old Honda or Ford under the old oak tree, but a Ferrari? It's not like its a $500 junker that is not fit for the road anymore, it was a collector car when they abandoned it.

 

[Bazil]

I can see abandoning an old Honda or Ford under the old oak tree, but a Ferrari? It's not like its a $500 junker that is not fit for the road anymore, it was a collector car when they abandoned it.

Don't forget - a 250 GTO (3589) sat in a field for 14 years, before someone rescued it and restored it to health.

itsmeek - very best of luck - it looks like an excellent project. If it wasn't for people like yourself, willing to take on the challenge, it'd be lost forever. Besides that, the GT4 is a fantastic car - I'd absolutely love one.

 

[itsmeek]

Welcome itsmeek. Now that's a solid project to get your teeth into, but IMHO the GT4 is a fab funky beast and your efforts should give you lots of satisfaction in the end. 8)

I tend to agree with Ed, in that sitting exposed for 13 years may have had more impact on brake components than the more "sealed" environment within the hubs. It does seem extreme that ALL wheels are locked-up. Anyway, take the rims off and try to remove the brake calipers and pads. If the pistons have siezed this may be hard, as you won't be able to retract them by bleeding-off fluid. Once one pad is out you should be getting somewhere. Hopefully you can then spin the hub - if not, Pete is right and the brgs will need to be pulled.

Try to avoid stuffing the rotor or hub by getting too violent as they will be expensive, while the brgs & brake bits should be more replaceable.

Re the hoot, I can only suggest closely examining the working catch. Has the RH cable (?) failed at the handle-end (& can you pull it with pliers)? Can you lever up the hood enough to see how the LH one works (and then work out how to tackle the RH one)?

My thoughts are that you will need lots of lateral thinking to get you to the end of the road you are travelling.

Anyway, GT4 (Peter) will have lots of suggestions soon ....
Good luck & keep us informed of the successes and problems.

hi,

and thank you for the responses. you guys rock compared to the people at the acura rsx-s board. the catch for the hood works fine. it opens the passenger side lock but not the drivers side. i do not want to damage the hood anymore then it has already been damaged. does anyone know where I can get a repair or shop manual for this vehicle cheap??

thank you

meek

 

[Pete04222]

does anyone know where I can get a repair or shop manual for this vehicle cheap??

thank you

meek

How's free? Is free good?
http://www.ferrariforum.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1832
:green: :green:

 

[Stradale]

Perhaps a tow to the workshop is in order here.

 

[confused 206 (Fiat Dino)]

Maybe I'm missing something ... you say that the hood mechanism works fine, but the hood doesn't open on the drivers side.

These latches are realitivly simple mechanical parts that seldom have serious problems beyond the cable not pulling the release far enough to release the latch. That's why the emergency ring is present. It is another mechanical means to release the latch.

Try having one friend hold down the passenger side and another hold down the driver's side ... not a lot of pressure, just enough to keep the passenger side from coming up. With the hood release pulled, gently bounce the driver's side of the hood. If it does not come up, pull the emergency ring and try again. The latch is located about 2 inches or so from the corner of the hood.

One note: the brace that holds the hood open once the latches are released is located on the driver's side and is a simply, arcane piece of work. If this is seized, it may not allow the hood to open properly, however, I'm not sure that it would not allow the driver's side latch to release.

You might try eBay for a workshop manual ... I've seen reprints on that venue for starting bids around $15.00. There are a lot of CD's with workshop manuals, but these tend to be a pain to use as it is difficult to take it to the car with you.

I will presuppose that you have not done much work on Ferrari and therefore offer the following information. The main manuals that you might find handy are the Handbook, the Workshop Manual, and the Parts Manual for your car. The Handbook will cover a lot of general information, the Workshop Manual is not a comprehensive as most Chevrolet or Ford manuals but covers a great deal of repair information , however, sometimes presupposes that you already know how to fix what you are working on, and the Parts Manual is useful to determine how the heck to put back together the part that you have spread out all over the table.

Hope this helps!
Best Wishes

 

[confused 206 (Fiat Dino)]

Just an addendum to the front lid problem: Attached is an address for a picture that appears on the web that shows the passenger side latch ... there is one just like it on the Driver's side.

The picture may help you identify the approximate location of the latch and give you some idea as to how to "jiggle" the stuck Driver's side latch.

http://308gt4.homestead.com/files/DSCF0029.JPG

Keep us posted.
Best wishes

 

[itsmeek]

thank you guys so much. I will start working on it as soon as it is "officially" mine. I have to go thru the procedures w/dmv. it will be fine..

 

[itsmeek]

as an update. i finally got the hood open. it took alot of time and effort. the opening mechanism was rusted to hell and after alot of wedging and crc it finally opened.

 

[confused 206 (Fiat Dino)]

Glad to hear the good news that you got the hood opened!

Keep us up to date, and post pictures when you can ...

Best wishes